Parents Another early meet start question

[MILgymFAM]

Have you already tried a diffuser and lavender? I'd been stubbornly against trying essential oils until DD spent the night with a friend who had one and loved it. It actually seems to help my DD relax and fall asleep to some degree.

(I'm still not nuts about them, but DD can run with it if she wants).

My DD also has a bit of a later circadian rhythm... To bed at 10:30-10:45pm, but rarely falls asleep before 11:15-11:30, and if she has her way, sleeps until at least 10:30am. We finally stopped fighting it a couple of years ago. When we'd send her to bed at 9:00, she'd just lay in bed for hours. (I mean, even as an infant she'd be up until 10:30pm, then sleep through the night until 7am or so).

If it were me, I'd try to get DDs to bed a bit early and let them sleep as late as possible. Is there anything that might help them sleep... Like reading or a lavender bath? Extra activity? Being lazy? I'd also do the minimum required for hair, etc, in the morning while she wakes up, then hop in the car and hope they somehow sleep on the way. Then a light breakfast quick as she walks into the venue... But that's just me. I say that one day of limited sleep shouldn't be too hard on them.

My YDD has a diffuser that spits peppermint essential oils, which is supposed to ward off spiders. She has a legitimate phobia (we lived through arachnophobia, basically), and any spiders we get now all seem to migrate to wherever she is. But I digress. I think I will read them a few extra chapters that night- usually going over two or three starts to lull them. We will also have tv free day (which should be easy since they will have practice for 6 hours), and keep the house warm with low lights. I'm going to make breakfast muffins that they can nibble on between rotations since there are longer breaks in T&T.

I did offer to just not sign them up for this meet, but they shot me down! Ha!

 

[l.c.o]

@MILgymFAM I'd forgotten how much more "relaxed" T&T meets are scheduling-wise with the longer breaks between events. (Though I'm sure still overall stressful ) DD has considered the switch a couple of times, but so far hasn't been ready. I saw T&T compete the other day and it looked like a much different experience! (Not super available/competitive in our area, though).

YIKES about spiders. I had an awful experience with them as a kid while camping during a drought... I still won't camp... I moved to a more rural area several years ago, and let's just say I'm finally becoming desensitized to many different creatures. So there's hope for your DD???

Good luck!

 

[Ali'sMom]

Ok, I will play.

I was in a very competitive sport back in the day....and my coach did all these studies on sleep. I clearly remember his words and they stick with me today: The amount of sleep the night before an event does not have nearly as much impact as the two nights before that. He was and still is a very knowledgeable man, and it definitely held true for me...I hardly ever slept much the night before a meet!

So....if they are getting plenty of sleep the days prior to the event, as long as they are getting SOME sleep the night before they will be fine. Yes they might need coffee to help stir the senses at a higher level, but they will be OK. I do also remember my coach mentioning how a day to free the mind up also helps if possible, and this held true for me....so I do the same with my kid and it helps her too (I am lucky though, she is homeschooling, and I did not even think of doing this until she hit optionals, because she didn't need prior "meet downtime" then).
So my two cents is to rest up beforehand, get as much as you can the night before, do the hair anyway you can, and to have fun!

Totally agree with this one
My DD typically goes to bed around 11:00 due to gym and homework. Up at 7:00. In the past we've tried to get her to sleep earlier the night before an early meet - it backfires. The time lying in bed, getting frustrated just makes it worse.
This past weekend for a meet, she was in bed around 10:30 (tried for a "little" early). Up at 5:45. Out of the house by 6:45. To meet at 7:45.
The adrenaline and previous rest helped her greatly.
She did sleep on the way home after getting a good meal in her tummy

 

[e'smum]

(I'm still not nuts about them, but DD can run with it if she wants

totally hijacking but why are you against essential oils? i got hooked on them by a friend who used to be a cardiac nurse. i mostly diffuse mine, i love all the smells, but i have used some with my sick kids along with any medications they need. even a couple of the teachers at my kid's grade school use them in the classroom. they will throw a calming blend in the diffuser if the room is getting rowdy.

 

[e'smum]

Ok, I will play.

I was in a very competitive sport back in the day....and my coach did all these studies on sleep. I clearly remember his words and they stick with me today: The amount of sleep the night before an event does not have nearly as much impact as the two nights before that. He was and still is a very knowledgeable man, and it definitely held true for me...I hardly ever slept much the night before a meet!

So....if they are getting plenty of sleep the days prior to the event, as long as they are getting SOME sleep the night before they will be fine. Yes they might need coffee to help stir the senses at a higher level, but they will be OK. I do also remember my coach mentioning how a day to free the mind up also helps if possible, and this held true for me....so I do the same with my kid and it helps her too (I am lucky though, she is homeschooling, and I did not even think of doing this until she hit optionals, because she didn't need prior "meet downtime" then).
So my two cents is to rest up beforehand, get as much as you can the night before, do the hair anyway you can, and to have fun!

i find this very interesting. my dd doesn't have any sleep issues but my ds is a total night owl like me. i will have to file this info away

 

[l.c.o]

totally hijacking but why are you against essential oils? i got hooked on them by a friend who used to be a cardiac nurse. i mostly diffuse mine, i love all the smells, but i have used some with my sick kids along with any medications they need. even a couple of the teachers at my kid's grade school use them in the classroom. they will throw a calming blend in the diffuser if the room is getting rowdy.

I'm not against them per se. I have a few good friends who sell them. I just... a couple of them are a little over the top and to be honest, it was a bit of a turnoff.

When I volunteered in the health room in my kids' primary school, I used one in the sick room. And I have one in my main living space at home, and one in my DD's bedroom. I do occasionally use the oils and use some blends, and I do like using a blend in windowsills to repel creepy crawlies and such...

Part of it is probably due to my own allergies and the fact that I'm a bit sensitive to smells, so if I do use it, I have to be careful not to overdo it... Sometimes scents that are ok one day aren't so ok the next.

As for with illnesses, I guess I kind of look at them like any other "supplement" to a degree. I'm not big on them unless they're specifically necessary. But again, I'm a pretty highly allergic person (as is my DD), so that likely has some influence.

I encourage my DD to use the lavender and whatever calming or energizing scents she likes in her bedroom... So I'm not ANTI essential oils. I just really haven't gone all-in and boarded the train.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Only a week later and rhythmic got me too! DD has a 7:50 stretch with her team at a meet that's an hour and a half away. She is to show up in full makeup and hair. I caved and got a hotel for that one. The makeup was a bridge too far! Ha ha!

 

[MILgymFAM]

All this, and they changed the meet sessions for Saturday's meet. We found out last night. My girls now start at 11:30- yay for that! I guess the host gym did notify coaches almost two weeks ago, but it slipped through the cracks and wasn't passed on to parents at our gym. I'm glad to not have to be up so early, but a friend got stuck with her kids in two sessions (including the early one), where they were in the same session before the change..

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Wake them up early the week before the meet, then they will be tired and fall asleep earlier more easily. I would also try some melatonin. Good luck!

 

[MILgymFAM]

Wake them up early the week before the meet, then they will be tired and fall asleep earlier more easily. I would also try some melatonin. Good luck!

We aren't the early session any more- they switched them all around. We had decided to move bedtime back about an hour and a half and call it done. My YDD was upset she went to bed early for three days for nothing! Bwah ha ha ha!